Flying into Dubai last week, BBC television presenter Andrew Neil commented that it was 30˚C at 6.30am. “Too hot for sunbathing,” he tweeted from the airport, as the rest of Dubai thought how lucky we were that it was only 30˚C at 6.30am. We’ve just limped through the hottest May since records began (interestingly, this was only in 1997), which saw midday highs of up to 44˚C.

But with the June mornings still relatively fresh, there’s a sense in Dubai that we’re now living on borrowed time. Any morning now we’ll wake up to find that the Gulf summer’s slammed into gear, drenching cars and buildings with scorching humidity, melting makeup, frizzing hair and putting an end to thoughts of any outdoor activity beyond lazing by a chilled swimming pool.

And, as you run from air-conditioned car to air-conditioned mall, do you ever think about those who, come… Read more